Some Politics...

Hollywood and the Arabs

One might think nasty generalizations about ethnic or religious groups are a thing of the dark past and are not mentioned publicly, let alone written or broadcast anywhere in modern America. Unless, of course, you examine the media's portrayal of persons with Arab origin.

One particular Hollywood giant has earned low marks lately with the Arab American community for its repeated negative portrayals of Arabs despite earlier pledges to the contrary. The Walt Disney Company and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) reached an agreement in 1993 for the alteration by Disney of the theme song of the movie “Aladdin” (“Arabian Nights”) and consultations between Disney producers and ADC in the future on all issues relating to Arabs and the Arab world. Disney did alter most of the offensive lyrics in the video and television releases of the film but retracted its pledge on any consultations.

There have been many offenses against Arabs by Disney producers and script writers. The movie “Father of the Bride, Part II” depicts a repulsive character by the name of “Habib” who is evil, has no regard for others’ feelings and extorts money from the main character of the film, Mr. Banks (Steve Martin). “Kasaam,” another Disney movie starring Shaquille O'Neal portrays an evil character by the name of “Mr. Malek,” along with a couple of assistants who all speak with heavy Middle Eastern accents, threaten a 12-year-old boy and throw him down a shaft when he resists their threats.

The main problem is not the depiction of repulsive Arab characters but the absence of balancing positive Arab characters. Disney producers do not appear to go to the same length as their Hollywood colleagues to make sure positive characters are used to balance the negative characters. This serves to dehumanize Arabs and justify anti-Arab racism. Good examples are the Oklahoma City bombing and the TWA crash where Arabs were immediately accused of violence.

Repeated requests by ADC and its members for a meeting with Disney representatives to address Arab concerns went unanswered for months. This led ADC to organize demonstrations in front of Disney facilities that were covered in the national and international media. In the summer of 1996, Disney finally started responding to the criticism by responding to individual writers with letters of apologies. Disney also established a new department of Arabic Standards and Practices headed by an Arab American.

A letter writing campaign has attempted to influence the Disney Company into consulting with Arab American groups (such as ADC) in the making of films that depict Arabs or deal with Middle Eastern issues.

By Mourad Chaouch